1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to measuring instruments used to determine the dimensions of vehicle wheels. The new device provides a simple means to measure vehicle wheel offset between the wheel centerline and the mounting pod.
2. Description of Related Art
There are currently in use measuring rulers and equations for the determination of a vehicle wheel centerline, backspace and offset. These methods require the taking of one or more measurements related to wheel width and mounting pad location. A calculation must then be performed to determine the wheel offset.
These steps are necessary to convert between the two commonly used measures of wheel mounting location and the back edge of the wheel rim. In common practice wheel backspace is usually measured in inches and offset is measured in millimeters. Depending on the manufacturer, one or the other of these measures is specified and it is often necessary to convert between the two measures in use of the wheels with a particular vehicle.
The present invention provides in one measuring device the means to measure a wheel backspace and offset without the need to perform the offset calculation. By direct measure and reading of these values wheels can be quickly checked for accuracy and calculation error is reduced. The tool is particularly useful in the situation where many wheels of varying dimensions must be checked.